JUNE BOND MEASURE DIES IN STATE SENATE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - An effort to salvage Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's massive bond package for the June ballot failed Wednesday when the Senate refused to consider the plan before a midnight deadline expired.

The move dealt a sharp blow to Schwarzenegger's ambitious plan to pour billions of new dollars into schools and levees - seen as a key plank in his re-election bid later this year.

Aides to the governor said the administration plans to continue pressing for infrastructure improvements.

``While we are disappointed we did not make the June ballot, everyone knew it would be very difficult,'' the governor's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said in a written statement. ``The governor has always said what is important is not June or November but that he and the Legislature work to rebuild California.''

The Assembly passed a $10 billion education bond and $4 billion levee bond - far smaller than the governor had envisioned for June - but the Senate adjourned several hours before the midnight deadline without considering either. Instead the Senate passed a $1 billion regular appropriation from the state budget for levee repair.

The action came only hours after legislative leaders and the governor had appeared to reach a tentative deal to place $14 billion in bonds on the June ballot, and $10 billion on a ballot in 2008, with further negotiations expected on an additional bond measure this November.

Senate president pro tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said lawmakers simply ran out of time, but he plans to continue working on a bond measure for November.

``I want to emphasize that we are under no deadline to put something on the ballot this year,'' Perata said. ``This will be put on the ballot in a manner timely enough for November and I think that the fact that this was done tonight unanimously with a bipartisan vote speaks volumes about our willingness to continue to work as we have in the past cooperatively for the citizen of this state.''

The state printer had set the deadline as midnight Wednesday, saying any later than that and it could not guarantee that it could print and mail 15 million ballots in seven different languages on time.

The deal came together after a week of intense negotiations, well past the official deadline for placing a measure on the ballot.

The deadline had been Friday, but lawmakers were told they could extend the deadline by a few days with a two-thirds vote to shorten the public display period for the ballot pamphlet.

Even as the Assembly passed the bonds, some Republicans complained about not having enough time to review the details of the multibillion dollar plan, which was submitted to them shortly before the vote.

``The children will be just as well-served having this on the November ballot as they will having it on the June ballot,'' said Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Temecula.

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com